Ukraine inflicts more losses on Russia: Kyiv says 5,700 of Putin's invading troops have been killed | Putin is playing the West amid nuclear threats | Massive Russian column nearing Kyiv | What Berlin’s U-turn on defence, energy policy means for Germany | Zelensky's powerful appearance at the EU | Russia to continue Ukraine operation until goals achieved: Shoigu | Мединский доложил Путину об итогах переговоров лично и письменно
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Ukraine inflicts more losses on Russia: Kyiv says 5,700 of Putin's invading troops have been killed | Putin is playing the West amid nuclear threats | Massive Russian column nearing Kyiv | What Berlin’s U-turn on defence, energy policy means for Germany | Zelensky's powerful appearance at the EU | Russia to continue Ukraine operation until goals achieved: Shoigu | Мединский доложил Путину об итогах переговоров лично и письменно
(NewsNation Now) — Russian President Vladimir Putin is playing the West by offering peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, NewsNation’s Leland Vittert said on “Morning in America.”
Russian and Ukrainian delegations were meeting for talks Monday with hopes for a diplomatic breakthrough after Moscow unleashed the biggest land war in Europe since World War II. More than 500,000 people have fled Ukraine since Russia invaded the country last week according to the U.N., and the mass exodus showed no signs of stopping Monday.
Vittert said Putin knows what the West and other NATO countries want to hear and he will keep saying it while doing the complete opposite.
“Back during the 2014 Russian invasion of Ukraine, you saw the same thing that as Putin was encircling towns and shelling them and bombing them, he was saying, ‘Oh, let’s have peace talks, I’m ready to have peace, and we must have dialogue and on and on,'” Vittert said on “Morning in America.” “He’s an expert at playing to the West, and America’s desire and ideals, that diplomacy and talking and agreements can work out. You might equate it to a guy who’s debating over, you know, says he’s gonna negotiate over a pizza while he continues to eat the pizza that you’re negotiating over?”
On Monday, the Defense Ministry said extra personnel were deployed to Russian nuclear forces, and that the high alert status applies to all their components: the forces that oversee land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched intercontinental ballistic missiles and the fleet of nuclear-capable strategic bombers.
It was not immediately clear whether the Kremlin announcement means any nuclear-armed aircraft could already be in the air around Ukraine. But the move is a clear escalation.
U.S. and British officials played down Putin’s nuclear threat as posturing. But for many, they stirred up memories of the Cuban Missile Crisis and concerns that the West could be drawn into a direct conflict with Russia.
Vittert said to take the offering of peace talks with a grain of salt because of historic Russian doctrine.
“He wants to play to everyone’s sensibilities and idea that there can be peace and desire to continue to not have bloodshed. Meanwhile, we understand that there’s a column of Russian military vehicles, about three and a half miles long worth of artillery surrounding Kyiv and moving in that direction,” Vittert said. “The real danger here is that the Russians do what the Russians are trained to do. And Russian military doctrine says that at the time that your conventional forces you get bogged down and involved in a humiliating fight, which is what’s happening right now and the potential for a street district combat situation fighting an insurgency in Ukraine that the Russian forces are going to lose, you bring out tactical nuclear weapons to force capitulation upon the enemies. That’s their doctrine.”
Putin also stepped up his rhetoric Monday, denouncing the U.S. and its allies as an “empire of lies.” He described Western allies as U.S. “satellites which humbly fawn on it, kowtow to it, copy its conduct and joyfully accept the rules.”
This story is developing. Refresh for updates.
Watch “On Balance with Leland Vittert” weeknights at 7/6C.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
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image/jpeg qeezj8k3_s.jpgMichael Novakhov retweeted:
Шойгу: Украинская армия размещает военную технику возле жилых домов и объектов инфраструктуры.
Мудак, покажи военную технику возле школы в Харькове и здания Областной госадминистрации. Скотина ублюдочная.
The post Michael Novakhov retweeted: Шойгу: Украинская армия размещает военную технику возле жилых домов и объектов инфраструктуры. Мудак, покажи военную технику возле школы в Харькове и здания Областной госадминистрации. Скотина ублюдочная. first appeared on FBI Reform.
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Russia will continue with the offensive in Ukraine until its “goals are achieved,” Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday, almost a week after Moscow’s invasion.
“Russian armed forces will continue to conduct the special military operation until set goals are achieved,” Shoigu told at a press conference aired on state television. According to Agence France-Presse (AFP) he said Moscow aims to “demilitarize and de-Nazify” Ukraine, as well as protect Russia from a “military threat created by Western countries.”
Shoigu said Moscow’s main goal was protecting itself from threats created by the West and said Russia was not occupying Ukraine’s territory.
“The Russian army does not occupy Ukrainian territory and takes all measures to preserve the lives and safety of civilians,” he said. “Protecting Russia from the military threat from the West is the main task of the special operation in Ukraine.”
Despite various video images and pictures and witnesses’ claims, Shoigu said Russian airstrikes during the operation are carried out only on military targets and exclusively with high-precision weapons.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitriy Peskov said Moscow continues to consider Volodymyr Zelenskyy the legitimate president of Ukraine. However, he added that a conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy is not yet planned.
Zelenskyy on Monday said he had signed an official request for his country to join the European Union. He posted photos of himself signing the application and his office said the paperwork was on its way to Brussels, where the 27-nation European Union is headquartered.
The announcement came after the president urged the bloc to grant his country immediate membership under a special procedure, as Russia’s assault against the pro-Western country entered its fifth day.
“We appeal to the European Union for the immediate accession of Ukraine via a new special procedure,” the 44-year-old leader said in a video address earlier on Monday. “Our goal is to be together with all Europeans and, most importantly, to be on an equal footing. I’m sure it’s fair. I’m sure it’s possible.”
During his video address, he also urged Russian soldiers to lay down their weapons and leave as Ukrainian and Russian delegations held talks on Moscow’s invasion.
Peskov noted Tuesday that Ukraine’s application to join the EU “lies on a different plane,” because the EU is not a military-political bloc (unlike NATO) and Kyiv’s desire to join the EU is fixed in the Constitution of Ukraine.
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The post Russia to continue Ukraine operation until goals achieved: Shoigu first appeared on FBI Reform.
- Russian Forces Target Ukrainian Civilian Areas as Missile Hits Central Kharkiv The Wall Street Journal
- Russian artillery kills 70 Ukrainian soldiers at military base, official says: Feb. 28 recap USA TODAY
- What Happened on Day 5 of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine The New York Times
- Ukraine-Russia Live News Updates: Putin's Troops Bombard Kharkiv, Advance on Kyiv Newsweek
- Tuesday briefing: Russian convoy bears down on Kyiv The Guardian
- View Full Coverage on Google News
WION Live Broadcast: Massive Russian column nearing Kyiv | Zelensky's powerful appearance at the EU
-Satellite images show massive Russian column nearing Kyiv
-Ukraine's second-largest city resists Russian bombings
-Zelensky's powerful appearance at the EU parliament
-Int'l criminal court to probe potential war crimes
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Come what may, they have said they will never surrender to the Russian onslaught so civilians who have never had a day of military training in their life are now signing up to fight against the Russians our next report gets you more details.
#RussiaUkraine #Civilians #WorldNews
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WION -The World is One News, examines global issues with in-depth analysis. We provide much more than the news of the day. Our aim to empower people to explore their world. With our Global headquarters in New Delhi, we bring you news on the hour, by the hour. We deliver information that is not biased. We are journalists who are neutral to the core and non-partisan when it comes to the politics of the world. People are tired of biased reportage and we stand for a globalised united world. So for us the World is truly One.
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Ukrainian forces have inflicted heavy losses on advancing Russian forces as bitter fighting in Ukraine enters its sixth day, according to a spokesperson for the nation's general staff.
Ukraine claimed that Russian forces have lost 5,710 personnel in the fighting thus far, along with 29 aircraft, 198 tanks and 846 armoured vehicles which were either destroyed or significantly damaged - though these figures cannot be verified.
Moscow acknowledged for the first time yesterday that its forces had incurred losses amid the invasion but have refused to give concrete figures, stating only that the numbers are far lower than those given by Ukraine.
Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Russian forces had dealt significant damage to Ukrainian defences in kind.
'A total of 311 tanks and other armoured military vehicles, 42 airplanes and helicopters, 51 multiple launch rocket systems, 147 field artillery weapons and mortars, and 263 specialised military vehicles have been destroyed,' he said.
Russia's invasion - which met with heavy defeat in its initial plan to seize key targets and infrastructure in precision strikes - entered a new phase yesterday, with the aim seemingly to surround and bombard cities such as Kharkiv, Kyiv, Mariupol, Sumy and Kherson.
Ukrainian army units and civilian defence forces have put up fierce resistance and have stalled the Russian onslaught on the ground for now, prompting Putin to launch an indiscriminate bombing campaign of Ukraine's two largest cities - Kyiv and Kharkiv.
The civilian death toll has increased significantly in the past two days since Russia began its bombardment, with Ukrainian authorities reporting 352 civilian deaths since the start of the invasion, including 14 children.
Ukrainian forces have inflicted heavy losses on advancing Russian forces as bitter fighting in Ukraine enters its sixth day, according to a spokesperson for the nation's general staff (picture: Russian armoured vehicles stand destroyed or abandoned in the streets of Kharkiv)
Ukraine claimed that Russian forces have lost 5,710 personnel in the fighting thus far, along with 29 aircraft and 198 tanks which were either destroyed or significantly damaged, though these figures cannot be verified (pictured: a Ukrainian territorial defence fighter examines a destroyed Russian armoured vehicle)
A Ukrainian Territorial Defence fighter takes the automatic grenade launcher from a destroyed Russian infantry mobility vehicle GAZ Tigr amid conflict in Kharkiv
Ukrainian army units and civilian defence forces have put up fierce resistance and have stalled the Russian onslaught on the ground for now, prompting Putin to launch an indiscriminate bombing campaign of civilian targets in Ukraine's two largest cities - Kyiv and Kharkiv (pictured: demolished buildings in northeast Kharkiv as a result of Russian shelling)
Russian authorities meanwhile acknowledged for the first time yesterday that their forces had incurred losses amid the invasion, but have refused to give any further details or concrete figures. Ukrainian forces have thus far successfully repelled Russian attacks on the ground (servicemen of Ukrainian Military Forces walk in the small town of Sievierodonetsk, Lugansk)
A comparison of Russian and Ukrainian military might suggests that Russia easily has enough bodies and firepower to succeed in their invasion. But Ukraine has called on all men between 18-60 to remain and fight, while the US and several EU countries have delivered a steady stream of weapons and equipment to its army
This image, posted by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, shows the square outside the administrative building covered in rubble following the rocket attack
The U.N. human rights office has put the civilian death toll in Ukraine at 136, including 13 children, since the start of the invasion, but warned the toll may be far higher.
The Geneva-based office said this morning that it has also recorded 400 civilians injured in the conflict, among them 26 children.
Many of the civilian deaths are thought to have come as a result of Russia's bombardment of residential and administrative targets in Kyiv and Kharkiv in the past 48 hours.
The move has seen Putin accused of war crimes, after multiple reports of the use of cluster bombs on residential high-rises and non-military structures.
International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan confirmed yesterday that a probe will be launched into Russia's bombing campaign: 'I wish to announce that I have decided to proceed with opening an investigation into the situation in Ukraine, as rapidly as possible'.
'I am satisfied that there is a reasonable basis to believe that both alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in Ukraine,' he added.
Zelensky slams Russian 'war crime' after Kharkiv bombings
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It came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last night said there would 'definitely be an international tribunal' for what he described as a 'violation of all conventions' and added that 'no one in the world will forgive [Putin] for killing peaceful Ukrainian people.'
The Kremlin meanwhile denied that the Russian military has used cluster munitions in Ukraine and insisted that the Russian forces only have struck military targets.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today that 'the Russian troops don't conduct any strikes against civilian infrastructure and residential areas.'
But Peskov's claim contradicts abundant evidence of indiscriminate shelling of homes, schools, and hospitals across Ukraine.
Speaking in a conference call with reporters, he wouldn't respond to questions about whether the Kremlin is happy with the pace of the offensive and wouldn't comment on Russian military casualties.
Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov also declared today that Russia 'did not and does not have any land-based, short or medium-range missiles', though he did not explicitly deny the widespread reports of Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian cities.
The bombing campaign began yesterday morning, with the most intense fire laid down on Kharkiv - Ukraine's second city which is home to 1.5 million people and stands a mere 25 miles from the Russian border.
Bombs, shells and rockets began hailing down on the city from lunchtime, leaving at least 11 dead, including three children, with homes, offices and even a school reduced to rubble.
Cluster munitions being used near shopping centre in Kharkiv
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Harrowing images show the brutality of the Russian attacks in Ukraine. This citizen was caught in a rocket blast in Kharkiv on Monday and lost a leg
Horrific moment missile hits Kharkiv city administration building
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Kharkiv was struck by more Russian rockets on Tuesday morning, with one striking outside the civilian public administration building which was heavily damaged in the blast. The rocket can be seen a split second before it slams into the building, triggering a massive blast
The blast blew debris across the square outside the administrative building and demolished several parked cars
Rescue workers and medics are pictured close to the regional administration building in central Kharkiv, picking their way through the debris following the explosion
A military source told MailOnline that videos of the onslaught showed 'cluster' munitions had been used.
'The BM-21 Grad is a multiple launch rocket system used for "area denial", dropping cluster bombs on a concentrated area,' the expert said.
'It's mainly used on enemy troops before an offensive. Used against civilians, it's not only a war crime, but has only one purpose – to spread terror and alarm among the civilian population.'
But despite Russia's ruthless bombing campaign and sustained ground assault, the Ukrainian army and its territorial defence forces have remained resolute.
Dozens of images and videos published on Monday showed Ukrainian forces parading defeated Russian soldiers who were captured as the remainder of their units retreated or were killed.
Captured Russian soldier came to Ukraine 'not wanting to kill'
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Ukraine has paraded captured Russian soldiers in dozens of online videos. Footage appeared on Facebook that showed a captured Russian soldier saying he did not come to the country 'wanting to kill'
The body of a Russian serviceman is coated in snow next to a destroyed Russian military vehicle on the outskirts of Kharkiv
'We thought we were peacekeepers': Captive Russian phones tearful mum
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Servicemen from the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic were captured by the Ukrainian military on Thursday, hours after Russia launched an invasion of the country
Footage posted online show tied up 'demoralised and exhausted' prisoners of war captured after they failed to break through defences in Kyiv and Kharkiv over the weekend.
Several of the videos were posted on a Telegram channel set up on Saturday by Ukraine's Interior Ministry called 'Find Your Own'.
Many Russian troops claimed that they believed they were conducting training exercises in the border regions and did not know they were being sent to invade Ukraine.
The Russian onslaught seems to have been slowed considerably, but there are fears that this lack of success on the ground will give rise to a prolonged bombing campaign designed to inflict maximum damage and beat Ukraine's cities into submission.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appointed a military commander on Tuesday to lead the defense of Kyiv, as Russian-led armored columns advanced on the capital.
“The defense of our capital is now our most important priority,” Zelenskyy said in a video address posted on his Telegram channel.
The defense of Kyiv will be led by General Mykola Zhernov, said Zelenskyy, in collaboration with the city’s elected mayor, former heavyweight boxing champion Vitaly Klitschko.
“I decided to appoint a professional military man as the head of the Kyiv city military administration for the duration of the war,” Zelenskyy said. “To guarantee the defense of the city, to block the enemy’s intrigues in our capital, so that the people of Kyiv have all that they need.”
Zelenskyy denounced what he said was a cruise missile strike on the regional administrative headquarters in the northeastern city of Kharkiv as “an outright, undisguised act of terror.”
“Russia is a terrorist state. No one will forgive. No one will forget,” said the president, who was unshaven and wore a khaki T-shirt, which has become a hallmark of his wartime leadership.
The Russian strikes on military and civilian command centers, coupled with the bombardment of residential areas in northeastern cities like Kharkiv and Okhtyrka, bode ill for the Ukrainian political leadership as it readies for a last-ditch defense of the capital.
Satellite imagery showed miles-long Russian armored columns stretching along highways to the northwest of Kyiv. These forces were joined in battle on Tuesday by Belarusian troops who crossed the border at Chernihiv to the northeast. This means that forces loyal to Russian President Vladimir Putin are now advancing towards the capital on both sides of the Dnipro River.
Ukraine. day six
On February 24, Vladimir Putin announced the start of a "special military operation" in Ukraine and "denazification of the country" at 5:30 am Moscow time.
Latest events:
📍 Russian Ministry of Defense: in order to suppress information attacks against Russia, high-precision weapons will strike at the technological facilities of the SBU and the 72nd main center of psychological special operations in Kyiv.
📍 The priests of the Russian Orthodox Church opposed the war in Ukraine and urged to stop the bloodshed.
📍 Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine do not carry out strikes on a residential complex, "this is out of the question."
📍 Foreign musical groups have started to cancel concerts in Russia.
📍 Sanctioned banks will not be able to issue new Visa and Mastercard cards, already issued cards will continue to work within Russia.
📍 Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the Russian army will continue the special military operation in Ukraine until the set goals are achieved.
📍 Valery Gergiev has been removed from his post as chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra.
📍 Sberbank is included in the UK sanctions list.
📍 In the Moscow metro, Apple Pay and Google Pay work intermittently.
📍 Foreign film companies suspend the distribution of their films in Russia.
📍 During the shelling of a military unit in the Ukrainian city of Akhtyrka, 70 Ukrainian soldiers were killed.
📍 The press secretary of the DPR military command, Eduard Basurin, announced the opening of two humanitarian corridors for civilians in Mariupol, they can leave the city until March 2.
📍In the center of Kharkiv, a shell hit the regional administration.
📍Zelensky signed an application for EU accession, it was delivered to Brussels and officially registered.
We remind you that any reports of the warring parties about their own and other people's losses, about successes and defeats should be taken with a certain degree of skepticism.
*Roskomnadzor considers untrue information about the shelling of Ukrainian cities and the death of civilians in Ukraine as a result of the actions of the Russian Army, as well as materials in which the ongoing operation is called an attack, invasion, or a declaration of war
Russia will continue with the offensive in Ukraine until its "goals are achieved," Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday, almost a week after Moscow's invasion.
"Russian armed forces will continue to conduct the special military operation until set goals are achieved," Shoigu told at a press conference aired on state television. According to Agence France-Presse (AFP) he said Moscow aims to "demilitarize and de-Nazify" Ukraine, as well as protect Russia from a "military threat created by Western countries."
Shoigu said Moscow's main goal was protecting itself from threats created by the West and said Russia was not occupying Ukraine's territory.
"The Russian army does not occupy Ukrainian territory and takes all measures to preserve the lives and safety of civilians," he said. "Protecting Russia from the military threat from the West is the main task of the special operation in Ukraine."
Despite various video images and pictures and witnesses' claims, Shoigu said Russian airstrikes during the operation are carried out only on military targets and exclusively with high-precision weapons.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitriy Peskov said Moscow continues to consider Volodymyr Zelenskyy the legitimate president of Ukraine. However, he added that a conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy is not yet planned.
Zelenskyy on Monday said he had signed an official request for his country to join the European Union. He posted photos of himself signing the application and his office said the paperwork was on its way to Brussels, where the 27-nation European Union is headquartered.
The announcement came after the president urged the bloc to grant his country immediate membership under a special procedure, as Russia's assault against the pro-Western country entered its fifth day.
"We appeal to the European Union for the immediate accession of Ukraine via a new special procedure," the 44-year-old leader said in a video address earlier on Monday. "Our goal is to be together with all Europeans and, most importantly, to be on an equal footing. I'm sure it's fair. I'm sure it's possible."
During his video address, he also urged Russian soldiers to lay down their weapons and leave as Ukrainian and Russian delegations held talks on Moscow's invasion.
Peskov noted Tuesday that Ukraine's application to join the EU "lies on a different plane," because the EU is not a military-political bloc (unlike NATO) and Kyiv's desire to join the EU is fixed in the Constitution of Ukraine.
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Olaf Scholz. CNN frame
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz delivered a speech at an extraordinary meeting of the Bundestag on Russia's attack on Ukraine. He called the Russian aggression a "turning point", including in German policy.
The chancellor confirmed that Germany would start supplying arms to Ukraine, as "Putin's aggression left us no other choice." On February 26, Scholz announced that Berlin would supply Ukraine with 1,000 anti-tank guns and 500 Stingers.
According to Scholz, sanctions against Russia in the event of continued aggression will increase, they "are not limited by any conceivable limits."
The chancellor said that Vladimir Putin wants to recreate the Russian Empire, and added that Europe cannot allow "this conflict between Putin and the free world to open old wounds and lead to new upheavals." Scholz acknowledged that long-term security without Russia in Europe is impossible, but pointed out that "Putin will jeopardize that security for the foreseeable future."
Scholz announced that Germany would now spend on defense the equivalent of more than 2 percent of its GDP. This year, its federal budget will receive an additional 100 billion euros for "necessary investments and defense projects." The military budget of the Bundeswehr for 2021 was 53 billion euros. Scholz assured that in matters of ensuring security within NATO, Germany fulfills its obligations without "ifs" and "buts."
Germany will take measures to reduce dependence on Russian gas as soon as possible. In particular, two new terminals for receiving liquefied gas will be built.
Germany also closed its airspace to Russian aircraft. Now about 20 countries have joined the air blockade of Russia. As expected, such a decision will soon be taken by the entire EU.
Before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, Germany repeatedly stated that it would not supply weapons to Ukraine. On February 22, after Vladimir Putin announced his decision to recognize the "DPR" and "LPR", the German government stopped the certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline .
The Ukrainian delegation has arrived in the area of the Ukrainian-Belarusian border to take part in talks with representatives of the Russian Federation.
According to Ukrinform, the Ukrainian President's Office reported this on Telegram.
The delegation includes David Arakhamia, head of the Servant of the People faction, Oleksiy Reznikov, Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Mykhailo Podoliak, advisor to the Head of the President's Office, Andriy Kostin, First Deputy Head of the Ukrainian Delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group, MP Rustem Umerov, and Deputy Foreign Minister Mykola Tochytskyi.
The President's Office said the key issue of the talks would be an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of troops from Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on February 27 that he had a call with Alexander Lukashenko. After the conversation, it was agreed that the Ukrainian delegation will meet with the Russian delegation without any preconditions on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border near the Prypiat River.
Lukashenko claimed responsibility for ensuring that "all planes, helicopters and missiles stationed on Belarusian territory remain on the ground at the time of the Ukrainian delegation's travel, talks and return."
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Martial law was imposed in Ukraine and general mobilization was declared.
Satellite images showed a 5-km long column moving towards Kyiv on Monday, Feb. 28 with thousands of infantry troops, tanks, self-propelled artillery, and fuel and logistical trucks, still 50km northwest of its target. In the city, weapons were being handed out to people to defend the city.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said he has little hope that the peace talks with Russia beginning on the Border with Belarus will resolve the conflict. With the massive Russian force on the move, Zelensky and Western intelligence watchers said Monday morning that the coming 24 hours would be “crucial” to the conflict. On Sunday, President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian nuclear forces to go on combat readiness in response to Western sanctions and “aggression.”
DEBKAfile sketches the situation on the different fronts of the Ukraine war:
1. The Russians paused their first attempt to take Kyiv after invading Ukraine last Thursday to await fresh supplies and fuel and meanwhile assemble a massive convoy for the operation.
2. West intelligence analysts don’t rate the chances of the far inferior Ukraine army sustaining its resistance for long.
3. After entering Ukraine’s second city of Kharkiv on Sunday, Russian troops pulled back during the day, there, too, to await heavy weapons reinforcements before going after an all-out offensive to seize the city.
4. In the southeast, the Russian army Sunday night mounted an offensive on Zabrozhia on the Dnieper, while continuing its assault to take Mariupol on the Azov Sea.
5. Ukrainian forces repelled the Russian attack on the southern city of Kherson.
6. Military analysts evaluate the Russian generals’ objective as being to link the Russian forces occupying Zabrozhia and Mariupol for blockading Ukrainian army positions in the north and the west.
7. Large Russian reserve contingents are on standby in neighboring Belarus and estimated ready to push into Ukraine from the north and the east.
Hopes for a successful peace conference on Monday faded when Moscow, ahead of its first round of negotiations with Ukraine, slapped down a demand to discuss a comprehensive accord, while Kyiv insisted first on a ceasefire and the withdrawal of the Russian invasion force.
On the battlefield meanwhile, our military analysts note that neither the Russians nor the Ukrainians are offering a clear picture of the state of play. Reports emanating from Western capitals depict the Russian army as having been forced to halt its advance by shortages of fuel and food for the soldiers. This overstates the case, much like the claim that the Russian army was totally halted in its tracks by bold Ukrainian resistance.
What is really happening, it seems, is that Russian tacticians are now prioritizing operations for cutting off and blockading Ukrainian units before major operations to capture of the country’s main cities. They are intent now on weakening resistance to their advance and counting on Ukrainian forces to buckle before long against a hugely superior military force and resign themselves to guerilla operations.
Peace talks reported between Russia, Ukraine
9:14 a.m.
Multiple media organizations are reporting that Ukraine and Russia will hold peace talks on the border of Ukraine and Belarus.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed to Sky News that the two sides would hold the talks on the border of Ukraine and Belarus, where some of the Russian troops invading his country had been held.
Zelenskyy had refused to agree to an earlier request for talks in Belarus, arguing it was not neutral territory.
Sunday was the fourth day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has been slowed by fierce resistance from Ukrainian troops and private citizens.
Several cities including the capitol of Kyiv have been bombarded by Russia, and there has additionally been fighting in the streets.
Sky News, referring to a statement from Zelenskyy's office, said the two delegations will meet "without preconditions" near the Pripyat River.
Earlier in the day, Zelenskyy had spoken with Belarus strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich PutinCyber officials urge federal agencies to armor up for potential Russian attacks Rick Scott: Putin a 'murderous thug,' will 'continue to try to swallow up more and more territory' Biden says Putin is 'producing the exact opposite effect that he intended' MORE.
"Alexander Lukashenko has taken responsibility for ensuring that all planes, helicopters and missiles stationed on Belarusian territory remain on the ground during the Ukrainian delegation's travel, talks and return," the statement said, according to Sky News.
— Ian Swanson
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